Pregnant Weight Can Have Big Impact on Child’s Weight

iStock/Thinkstock(BOSTON) — Pregnant women are often encouraged to eat as much as they want to provide nourishment to their newborn. But as always, too much of a good thing can have unwanted consequences.

David Ludwig at Boston Children’s Hospital contends that expectant moms who put on excessive poundage tend to have children with weight problems.

In an extensive study that looked at the body mass index of 90,000 children in Arkansas, Ludwig was able to link children with higher BMI scores to moms who were heavier than other women during their pregnancies.

Ludwig made the distinction by examining the BMIs of kids who had siblings, which excluded other factors like genetics and home environments.

The findings are important, according to the researchers, since “What happens for the mother during just nine months could have effects throughout childhood and perhaps throughout life for the next generation.”

Ludwig argues that children who are overweight as toddlers, even if it’s just a few more pounds than their peers, could wind growing up as overweight or obese adults.